


I just want to start a flame in your heart

by Tia_Gem



Series: Love is how all these ideas came to be, a Lal Lived AU [1]
Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Data Has Android Emotions, Data is only mentioned here, Flirting, Fluff, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Lal Lives AU, Lal doesn't have any friends except for Wesley, Minor Original Character(s), Mutual Pining, Not Beta Read, Teenagers, We Die Like Men, Wesley Has Friends AU, he's just stubborn about admitting it, not pictured: Data being distracted on the bridge because Lal is out and about and Not Safe, the emotional fallout of nearly dying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 04:02:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29977083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tia_Gem/pseuds/Tia_Gem
Summary: Lal and Wesley have lunch.AU where Lal lived, but is kinda treated like glass now and doesn't like it. Thankfully Wesley treats her all the same.
Relationships: Wesley Crusher & Lal, Wesley Crusher/Lal
Series: Love is how all these ideas came to be, a Lal Lived AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2216175
Comments: 3
Kudos: 3





	I just want to start a flame in your heart

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't watched TNG in well over two years but that hasn't stopped me from thinking about it constantly for most of my adult life and being upset that they killed Lal off. She was darling and deserved so much more. 
> 
> That being said, this is probably super ooc, I couldn't tell you right now but I'm sure I'll cringe over it later. I also have no idea how school works on the Enterprise. I only have my own high school experience and an incomplete memory of a few episodes I watched in passing. To be fair, I never liked how they wrote Wesley and he deserved friends.
> 
> This is part of a fix-it AU that I have in my head where Data was able to save Lal but now she has sensory issues and she's kinda tired of all the adults in her life treating her like she's on the cusp of another near death experience or something. You have one emotional breakdown that leads to a system-wide crash and suddenly no one lets you be upset anymore, seriously? 
> 
> (There's also an AU of this AU in my google docs where Lore is mostly redeemed and it's a big android family hooray~)
> 
> I didn't originally plan to make this Weslal but it turned out so cute I couldn't bear to change it.
> 
> Rated T because there's a part about boobs that is a bit more descriptive than I would feel comfortable leaving at a G rating and AO3 doesn't have PG. Nothing explicit and very quick. Think of the moment in The Princess and the Frog where Lottie adjusted her dress before going back to the dance.
> 
> Title is from "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" by The Ink Spots
> 
> Enjoy!

Lal had been eager when Wesley asked her to join him for lunch, in her own way. She'd smiled and nodded more enthusiastically than strictly necessary, and it was not to maintain any kind of illusion or aesthetic. Truly, she was just glad that her father had allowed it. Ever since her cascading failure, he'd been very careful about the amount of stimuli she was allowed to take in. He had fixed the issue, but her stability was still in question and even he didn't know what would trigger another failure, if it would at all. 

(In her opinion, he was being overprotective and perhaps a bit smothering. She'd been tempted to sneak out, but fear of another cascade had tapered her urge to rebel.)

Ten-Forward was noisy, filled with teenagers who were enjoying their lunch break before heading back to their classrooms for the afternoon. It was a bit overwhelming for Lal, she hadn't been around this many people at once in a while, but with the help of a pair of soft silicone earplugs she grew accustomed quickly. 

"What do you want to try today?" Wesley asked in Federation Sign Language, his hands wide and loud as he spoke the words aloud in tandem with his fingers. They'd agreed to use the silent language until Lal was comfortable enough to remove her earplugs, even though she had insisted that she could read his lips perfectly fine. 

"The maki roll sounds interesting. I've never had sushi before. Is it good?" Lal asked. Her own hands were elegant in their movements, and she didn't have to pause to remember a word like Wesley did. 

Wesley grinned. "Maki rolls are the best. Although there's this platter that I had once on my fourteenth birthday that was amazing I don't remember what it was called though." 

Lal smiled at the run-on sentence. He was only human after all. "Maybe the rolls then, and some jasmine tea with honey." 

"You got it. Can you find us a seat while I get our lunch?" Wesley disappeared into the crowd when Lal nodded. 

Without him near, she felt a twinge of regret. She was alone in a crowded area, for the first time in months; it made her nervous. She searched for an empty table, trying not to look out of place, and found a small one in the back corner by the door. It was a little quieter here, and if she needed to leave she could without causing a fuss. While she waited, she pulled a thin chain of a necklace out from under the neckline of her blouse and fidgeted with the smooth flat blue stone at the end. When Mr La Forge had given it to her, he'd called it a worry stone and said that his sister had one as well, a trinket to keep one's hands busy and help soothe frayed nerves. Lal kept it with her always, as both a fidget stimulus and a reminder that she had people who cared about her well being. 

It took Wesley sixteen minutes and forty two seconds to return with their meals. "Sorry," he said sheepishly, in English. "Kept getting pulled away. Kelvin wanted to know if I would lend him my notes from class." 

"I accept your apology, though it's unnecessary," Lal said, also aloud as she removed her earplugs. She was a little more confident that she could handle the noise level now. "What was your answer?" 

"Huh? Oh, I told him I'd transfer them over to his PADD in homeroom tomorrow. I'm playing hookey this afternoon, I have a project I wanna work on and honestly I'll only be missing one important class but I'll make it up quickly enough." Wesley sat down with his sandwich and what looked to be a smoothie. 

(It smelled a bit of dragon fruit and strawberry, an interesting combination. Wesley liked to experiment with flavors, Lal noted, especially fruit. He liked sweet things in general.)

Lal tilted her head a bit. "What kind of game is 'hookey'? Can I play?" she asked. 

Wesley chuckled. "Oh I always forget you and your dad don't understand slang. Hookey is when you skip class to do something else. I don't do it often, and please don't tell my mom, I'll never hear the end of it." 

The corners of Lal's mouth turned up. Doctor Crusher was a woman who gave the impression that she did not like people who avoided responsibility. She could only imagine the amount of trouble Wesley would be in if his mother found out he was intentionally missing classes to work on personal projects. "I will keep it between us, so to speak," Lal promised. "Although if it comes up in my sessions with Counselor Troi, I'll request she also not tell." 

"I 'preciate it," Wesley said with a smile. "Be careful of the wasabi, okay? That stuff's hot." 

Lal regarded her lunch. She had four rolls lined up neatly on a wooden platter and a dollop of a green paste, which she assumed was the wasabi Wesley spoke of. "It's chilled, though, is it not?" 

Wesley covered his mouth, having been mid bite of his sandwich and now fighting the urge to laugh. "Sorry, sorry," he coughed into his palm. "I meant spicy, Lal. It's full of capsaicin." 

(He still had a smile on his face; good, he wasn't annoyed by her naivety. A lot of people were, and it made her self conscious. Wesley was always very careful to make sure Lal never felt awkward or teased around him. He was very sweet, and Lal suspected he genuinely thought her mannerisms and misunderstandings were endearing.)

"Oh, I see. Thank you for the clarification," Lal said, returning the smile a tad more timidly than she'd intended. "And I apologize for making you choke." She took a roll and bit into it experimentally, avoiding the wasabi for now. It was salty, and cold, and the rice was sticky. She liked it. 

Wesley swallowed what was in his mouth and cleared his throat. "Not your fault, really," he said, sounding strained still. "Poor choice of words on my part." 

They chatted a bit while they ate. Wesley explained the schematics of his latest project, a tiny pet robot he was calling Vector. It was meant to be the size of a hamster, with all the personality of a dog or cat. "It'll be great for people with allergies, or people who want a pet but don't have time for a lot of maintenance," he said with a grin. 

"Pet maintenance can be very time consuming," Lal lamented in agreement. She helped take care of Spot all the time, and she didn't care for the amount of time it took to clean the litter box or trim her claws. 

(Not that Spot was a bad pet, she often enjoyed laying on her stomach on the floor while she painted and listening to the cat purr next to her, and petting Spot was a lovely experience for the most part. Unless Lal's hand strayed to her legs or belly, then she would get scratched.)

Lal finally was brave enough to try the wasabi after eating two rolls without it. She dipped it in the green paste apprehensively and looked at Wesley, who was watching her in anticipation. "You are making me nervous," she said with a soft smile. She hoped he understood she was teasing, or trying to at least. 

Wesley smiled. "My bad. I'll look away." He turned his head and closed his eyes. It prompted a small giggle from Lal, and he opened his eyes a few seconds later.

The wasabi wasn't bad at first, but the heat built quickly and Lal crinkled her nose at the sensation. It wasn't painful, she couldn't feel physical pain, but the amount of spiciness blocked any taste it would have had. She made a noise of discomfort and couldn't even bring herself to swallow it, discreetly spitting the food in her mouth into a napkin and folding it neatly to be thrown away later. "I don't like wasabi," she confessed. 

Wesley laughed, and it was a nice sound. Lal wanted to hear it again. She sipped her tea in the hope that the honey would wash away the lingering capsaicin, wishing briefly that she had some dairy to fully negate the effects of the chemical. 

"Well I do, so I'll just take that," Wesley smirked. He used the corner of his sandwich to scoop up the rest of the paste and plopped it on his plate. Lal nodded and did not protest in the slightest. 

"When you finish Vector's prototype, may I see it? Perhaps it could help me convince Father to let me get a pet of my own." Lal inspected the partially eaten maki roll to ensure there was no more wasabi on it before taking a bite. 

"Sure, but I don't see how it would help you get a pet. You take pretty good care of Spot, you'd think that'd be enough to prove you can handle that kinda responsibility," Wesley said. 

Lal nodded. "I don't think it is the responsibility he is worried about. My cascade frightened him, I think, or whatever he can feel that is the equivalent of fear. Part of it was the intensity of my emotions, and I believe he's afraid that if I become attached to a pet and it passes away, the potential grief might trigger a relapse." 

"And a little robot that can't organically die would be an excellent pet for you, if that's the case," Wesley finished the thought for her.

"Exactly." Lal smiled at Wesley. 

(He really was quite smart, it made sense that he preferred the company of adults over children his age. It was a shame, really, that the adults he chose to spend time with often found him to be irritating. Lal could relate, regrettably.)

A human girl approached their table. Lal stiffened slightly, strangers made her nervous and her semi-isolation made it hard for her to get to know any of the children her 'age'. They knew of her presence, and she of theirs, that was about it. 

"Hey there, Wesley," the girl crowed in a sickly sweet voice. She tossed her long blonde ringlets over her shoulder and leaned on the table with her arms, intentionally making her breasts appear bigger. "Me and Gilda and Josh were thinkin' about going to holodeck four and going swimming after class, you wanna come?" 

Lal frowned at being ignored by this girl. She was unsure if she was relieved that she wasn't being forced to interact with someone that clearly did not care for her, or if she was annoyed that her lunch was being interrupted by a girl blatantly flirting with Wesley in front of her. 

"Oh, hi Chelsea. Actually I had plans this afternoon, I have a robotics project I'm working on and I'd really like to get it done soon," Wesley said. To his credit he only glanced at Chelsea's chest twice, and his voice didn't waver despite his face growing red. 

Chelsea smirked, and Lal decided that she was definitely annoyed. "That sounds interesting. Do you need help? Maybe I can come by later tonight, I'm excellent at soldering." 

(That wasn't even a metaphor for anything, romantic or sexual, so why was she saying it like it was suggestive, why couldn't she just take her long curls and her big blue eyes and annoyingly large chest and skirt that left nothing to imagine and leave them alone-)

"I already have all the extra hands I need." Wesley looked at Lal with a smile. "Right, Lal? Steadiest hands in the galaxy, aside from your old man." 

Lal blinked, and the look that Chelsea gave her was filled with all the filthy, angry words she couldn't say in front of Wesley if she wanted him to stay interested. "Of course," she said, mirroring Wesley's smile tightly. "There are a lot of intricacies to navigate, and Father is busy on the bridge." 

"Sorry, Chels. Maybe some other time?" Wesley pointedly looked up at Chelsea's face. 

Chelsea stood straight again and sighed with a nod, never dropping the too-wide grin. "Alright then. I'll see you in class." Her eyes slid over to Lal, and her smile faltered. She turned on her heels.

"Freak," Lal heard her mumble as the girl left Ten-Forward. 

Lal grabbed the worry stone around her neck and rubbed it, schooling her face into something she hoped was emotionless. She didn't want to think about how deeply that word had struck, the heaviness that settled in her chest when she heard it in her head, over and over again like an echo full of hatred. 

"I'm sorry, Lal. Chelsea can be kinda… insensitive." Wesley sighed, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "She really wants to get into nursing and she thinks that if she can get into good graces with me and my family that she'll have an easy out. It's really not working out for her though. I can't stand her outside of class." 

"It's fine," Lal said distantly. She continued to fidget with her worry stone, ignoring the way the comment lodged itself in her mind like a nail in wood. 

Wesley frowned. "Hey, Lal. Look at me?" 

Lal glanced up. (How long had she been staring at the table?) Her hand paused briefly. "Yes?" 

"You're worth twenty of her. Don't worry about it too much," Wesley offered a reassuring look, a crooked smile that Lal never wanted to forget. 

"I will try my best," she promised, dropping the stone and letting it dangle. "Do you truly need help with your Vector project or did you only say that to turn her down?"

"Well, I was gonna do it by myself, but if you really want to help I could use a steady hand. I meant what I said, I don't think I've ever seen you fumble anything," Wesley chuckled. "Miss a catch, sure, but once it's in your hands, it's not leaving your grip until you decide it does." 

Lal smiled at the compliment, and the ugly pressure in her chest started to dissipate. "I will need permission from Father first before I can give you a direct answer. Although I think he'll say yes. He trusts you with me." 

Wesley snorted. "If you ask me, he should trust you a little more. Though maybe I shouldn't be too mad about it. Any other parent would have stuck you in a padded cell, or medicated you if you were human. He's been pretty nice in comparison, even if the constant supervision is a little exhausting."

"It is surprisingly lonely, though," Lal admitted unprompted. "I understand he is afraid, but I'm seeing Counselor Troi now and I have my emotions under control. I would like to spend more time with other people, closer to my peers' age range. It would help me hone my social skills greatly." 

"Well, for what it's worth, you're doing a great job," Wesley smiled. "You could pass as human." 

Lal grinned. A warmth blossomed in her chest, chasing away the uncomfortable pressure completely. His smile was something Lal would treasure, and she mentally stored the image in a special file in her memory bank titled 'Favorites'. "I appreciate that, Wesley. Thank you." 

Wesley's grin could light up a room. "And, just for the record, I prefer brunettes," he whispered with a wink. 

If Lal had a heart, it would have started racing. She smiled shyly into her tea, a hand going to her dark bobbed hair subconsciously. 

"You are terrible at flirting," she teased, and if she didn't know any better she would have said it was on instinct. Wesley laughed and looked away, cheeks pink.

"If only you knew." 


End file.
